The V-22 Osprey is one of the most complex pieces of Military equipment in the world. And now it is represented in full detail in Lego. This wonder of modern warfare comes to life on LDD, with working doors, flaps, props, and nacelles

About this creation

After the failure and disaster of the attempted rescue of hostages taken during the 1970's takeover of the US embassy in Iran, the military recognized the need for an air vehicle that could fly high and fast above danger zones, be able to land in tight areas like a helicopter, and then get out quickly.

The answer for this was the beginning of tilt-rotor aircraft in the modern era. Bell and Boeing struck up a partnership to begin work on the new aircraft. The result was the V-22 Osprey.

In the early 2000's, the aircraft seemed doomed to cancellation before it reached production after a series of crashes and mishaps. But with a fair amount of persuasion and presumably a lot of long nights by the folks at Bell and Boeing, the problems were corrected and the Osprey took flight on the front lines. With the ability to take off and land like a helicopter, the Osprey has the ability to go anywhere a helicopter can. And with the tilt of its nacelles, it can transition into an airplane and fly farther and faster than even the best helicopter.

This model features operating flaps and stabilizers on the tail and wings, as well as rotating nacelles to transition from helicopter mode to airplane mode. It has a full interior, with a complete cockpit and folding seats inside for troops.

With a lack of offensive capabilities, provisions have been made to add a retractable canon on the belly of the Osprey. But for now, it's only defense is an LMG mounted on the rear loading ramp of the aircraft for covering fire when troops are exiting the aircraft in a "hot" LZ. The Osprey's real weapon is its speed. With the ability to get in and out faster than any helicopter, it is hardly in the combat zone long enough to receive much fire. High and fast is the name of the game for the Osprey

I have also made the USMC's version of the Osprey, the MV-22. It differs slightly from the CV-22 variant of the Air Force, though they are very similar overall.

I would have liked to add a bit more detail and make the shape closer to the real thing, but I traded off realism for functionality. The forward area of the cockpit is a bit too long and the "hump" that the wings rest on is a bit too pronounced, but in order to fit the fully detailed cockpit and a fair amount of seating for minifigs inside, the forward cabin had to be extended by about 2 studs, and in turn, some things such as the "hump" have been accented a bit. However, I am overall happy with how this has turned out.

I hope you all like it! :D

Eagle One One Inbound

Up Up And Away

Design of the rear ramp (1x2 studs providing the upward sloping) and inspiration to build my own Osprey are credited to Ralph S. (Mad Physicist) and his MV-22 Osprey.

Quoting Justin Davies
The problem is there really is no such thing as "minifigure scale" in terms of correct proportions. LEGO minifigures are short, squat, and in no way proportional. This means that to base a model around them is going to lead to skewed dimensions. The only solution is to pick one dimension and relate the model to the minifigures that way, in my case, usually vertically. I don't worry so much about scale width in relation to the figures, because as long as I scale my model to fit a minifigure height-wise and proportion everything else correctly, I'm good. In your case, scale up the overall size of the model, detail your cockpit and still configure it correctly for the real-world number of crew, and proportion everything else outward from there. Your end result should be a larger version of your current model, only more detailed, with less fitment issues, and overall more refined. Look at my EA-6B picture with minifigures and you'll see what I mean. They are slightly undersized to the model, but not so much that they look silly or out of place, and I didn't have to sacrifice anything on the build to fit them.

I will have to try that. Thank you :) Also, I have checked out your EA-6B, and it is very impressive ;)

Quoting World Of Recreation
This osprey really reminds me of Mad Physicist, and I cant see his name in the introductions, correct me if im wrong, since I know his designs very well since I do builds from him with permission and already made his osprey into ldd, excellent model though.

This model is mostly my own design. I did borrow Ralph's (Mad Physicist's) method for the tail ramp (using 1x2 stud bricks instead of slopes), but that is the extent of what I have borrowed. I try to make my builds all on my own. Some of the shaping is slightly similar, but that is due to the fact that it is the same aircraft. You are bound to have some similarities when making the same aircraft, even amongst amatuer like myself and Pro builders like Ralph haha. I don't like to use the ideas of others, as it feels a bit like cheating to me. However, I was inspired to build this model due to Ralph's MV-22 Osprey. I did credit him for the tail ramp area and for inspiring me to build my own Osprey on my Flickr page, but I forgot to add that in here. Thank you for noticing that, and I will add that in asap!

This osprey really reminds me of Mad Physicist, and I cant see his name in the introductions, correct me if im wrong, since I know his designs very well since I do builds from him with permission and already made his osprey into ldd, excellent model though.

The problem is there really is no such thing as "minifigure scale" in terms of correct proportions. LEGO minifigures are short, squat, and in no way proportional. This means that to base a model around them is going to lead to skewed dimensions. The only solution is to pick one dimension and relate the model to the minifigures that way, in my case, usually vertically. I don't worry so much about scale width in relation to the figures, because as long as I scale my model to fit a minifigure height-wise and proportion everything else correctly, I'm good. In your case, scale up the overall size of the model, detail your cockpit and still configure it correctly for the real-world number of crew, and proportion everything else outward from there. Your end result should be a larger version of your current model, only more detailed, with less fitment issues, and overall more refined. Look at my EA-6B picture with minifigures and you'll see what I mean. They are slightly undersized to the model, but not so much that they look silly or out of place, and I didn't have to sacrifice anything on the build to fit them.

Quoting Justin Davies
Have you thought about re-visiting the design and scaling up slightly? About 50% should be sufficient to fix your stated compromises, as well as allow retractable landing gear and a bit more detail as well. You will have to get creative with the cockpit windscreen, but that is a small trade off for what you would gain.

I have thought about doing it. Bumping up the size certainly would smooth out my problems, as well as open up more space for adding in other things (like as you said, the retractable landing gear), but unfortunately I have a great deal of trouble making anything outside of Minifig scale .-. I can never seem to get the sizing right, and anything I do outside of minifig scale seems either bloated and stubby, or just extremely misshaped :P

Have you thought about re-visiting the design and scaling up slightly? About 50% should be sufficient to fix your stated compromises, as well as allow retractable landing gear and a bit more detail as well. You will have to get creative with the cockpit windscreen, but that is a small trade off for what you would gain.